Ah, vocal fry – that little edge to a voice that gets people (almost always women) accused of sounding like Kim Kardashian or whoever the vapid-starlet-du-jour may be. But what *is* it, precisely? Is it actually a problem, or is it just another way of policing someone’s (again, usually a woman’s) voice? This communication Q&A…
You can find Gord Sheppard on Twitter @GordonSheppard1 It doesn’t matter how much I explain it, it just doesn’t seem to sink in! Ever feel this pang of frustration when trying to get a point across? It’s pretty common to think that when someone isn’t ‘getting’ what we’re trying to say we need to…
Today we’re tackling a question that I get All. The. Time. This question from Sandy is on a lot of people’s minds: Hi Lauren – you’re a very energetic presenter, and I’m hoping you can help me inject some energy into my presentations. I’m an civil engineer and need make lots of technical presentations. The…
Is your office embroiled in email warfare, with people sending passive-aggressive messages or getting worked up into a froth after taking an email the wrong way? Email can be a hotbed of miscommunication, but there are ways to ensure your emails are clear, effective, and are interpreted the way you intended. In today’s Communication Q&A…
The first few minutes of your speech or talk are critical. Putting together a really solid opener can be tricky, and Ian is looking for advice on how to create stronger openers will grab his audience’s attention from the start: Hi Lauren, My name is Ian, and I’m in the financial sector. I give lots…
Guest post by Sam Eddy Watch most novice public speakers with a critical eye and I guarantee you will quickly be able to slice up sections of their speech into two categories: the funny bits and the serious bits. Good speeches balance humor with profound moments, and this balance can be hard for novice…
The message doesn’t always have to be new to have impact. How often do we go looking for information on the same old topic? How many times can we hear a similar message from different people and still be interested? Sometimes we don’t need new information – we just need to hear it from a…
I was at a convention this weekend, and while in the venue’s public bathroom I heard someone say something really familiar: “I don’t know what I’m going to stay on the panel. I don’t know why I said I’d do this. I’m going to start babbling and everyone there will think I’m an idiot.” So…
I remember when the Gap clothing store opened its first shop in my city. There was a lot of excitement about this place. People told a lot of stories about the experience of shopping there. They’re obsessed with customer service! The clerks wore headsets and radios so they could talk to each other! They’ve got…
There are always at least two people involved in a conversation: the communicator – the person doing the talking, and the receiver – the person doing the listening.* These roles usually switch frequently during the conversation, but they’re always there. Both roles have a huge amount of power. I generally believe that the receiver has…
